01 April, 2010

It's funny how companies don't always follow our well considered road maps. For example, we seem to be selling more VO seat post to racers and triathletes than to randonneurs and "country riders". Hardly a day goes by without an e-mail asking for a 31.8mm and/or carbon version. The reason is that all those folks riding too-small frames find benefit in increased set back. We see a similar interest in our stems. So we'll be introducing a new component line called Gran Rapide to meet this need.

Our first product will be an aero seat post. We'll introduce aero stems next, then a deep-V version of our PBP rim. It's a new direction for VO, but we think it has great potential for expansion. Any ideas for new Gran Rapide products?

37 comments:

Well, Berthoud already makes carbon fiber fenders, sized at a generous 23mm. I think you should next focus on a CF porteur rack. I mean, those things are heavy. I can't be the only one looking to shave off even a few seconds from my grocery run.

When are you going to come out with carbon fiber randonneur handlebars? Water bottle cages--drilled out? And, because I'm such a weight weenie, I want you to make a drilled-out water bottle to go with those new cages?

I could go for some aero bars in a polished aluminum alloy. An integrated water bottle (complete with a braided steel straw) would complement these nicely and allow one to hydrate without leaving the aero position. I would also like to see some polished aluminum rims with a toroidal cross section.

followed by a pair of carbon platform pedals to fit a remake of the TA pro v with hollow bb and carbon cranks and rings (alloy teeth).

you could also revisit your bottle cages. it would be great if you did an aero seatpost attachment thingy so i could add 2 bottles behind my seat. 2 kleen kanteens are never enough when i do ironman - i'd love to have 2 more back there out of the wind...

For the sake of us too tall or too short who have some difficult fitting needs, it would be great if you mentioned the distance from the center of the post to the center of the clamp for all models. My wife is short and we have the seat all the way forward and a 70mm stem, and still are a little on the long side.

I thinks this is a great idea. I heard a rumour that VO was going to bring out an aerodynamic Porteur style bike, sort of based on a Cervelo TT frame but with a front rack, aero-bars, a coffee cup holder, and 650b tires.

It will probably sell like hotcakes in Portland - spiritual home to $7000 glorified "custom" city junker bikes.

definitely rethink your whole line. I want to buy wind-tunnel-tested aero Grand Tour performance with NAHBS aethetics at a severely elevated high dollar per gram ratio, just because I am an exacting collector who is better than you, whom you could never understand in a million years, and also because, as the explorer said, It's there.

Don't forget about the carbon fiber rando frame. No sense lugging that "heavy" steel frame around when you can get into the 21st century with a lightweight carbon rando frame. Carbon racks, fenders, wheels, bars, stems, seatposts -- the list goes on and on. What about a carbon-body dynohub?

No, I agree! I actually think a well-matched deep rim is quite attractive, (part of why I wished I could find a 650b one) I simply don't care for some of the colour combinations some of the fixed gear crowd go for in my area, and that's simply a personal design choice.

call me contrarian, but the other thing you could do is sell simple products, that could work for almost any cycling purpose. Oh, I know, it probably wouldn't sell . . . just thought I'd throw that out there.mw